


A Question

by princessofthedeadsheep



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Aromantic, Asexuality, Asexuality Spectrum, Gen, Parental Roy Mustang, Questioning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:01:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24611938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessofthedeadsheep/pseuds/princessofthedeadsheep
Summary: Ed has a question, and Mustang seems like the best person to ask. Even if Ed really doesn't want to ask Mustang, of all people.Written For Ace/Aro Elrics Week One, Day Two: Education about asexuality, aromanticism, demisexuality, demiromanticism, gray-romanticism or gray-asexuality
Relationships: Edward Elric & Roy Mustang
Comments: 9
Kudos: 221
Collections: Asexual and Aromantic Ed





	A Question

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so as stated above this is for Aro-Ace Ed week and I'm hoping I did it justice. I tried to keep it as in character as an out of character moment can be, but if anyone has any polite constructive criticism, I'd always like to hear it.

As kids in Resembool, sex just hadn’t come up. Or rather, it had, but the adults were quick to change subjects and to brush it away with careless words. Romance came up plenty, though it always seemed teasing. Even as he and Al read biology books, there is very little focus on reproduction. After all, they only needed to know enough about the body to make one for their mother to inhabit, an estrogenic system hadn't really been a priority, just another facet of the whole. None of the books they read even touched on romance or sexuality, and they rarely brought sex up. For a long time, sex and romantic relationships were not something Ed thought about, and he doubts it came up much for Al either.

Then Ed became a State Alchemist. The Military was for adults, and any group of people that spend enough time together are likely to talk, and sex and relationships, almost inevitably in Ed’s newfound experience, came up. At first they’d teased him about how he’d feel something when he’s older, though they never explain clearly what he’s supposed to feel one day. Later, they just start to tease him about feeling it. The only problem being he has absolutely no idea what they’re talking about, and if he tries to say something they just tease him about being in denial.

His feelings for Winry are whatever they are, and he never likes to question them too much. Not when he and Al are leaving her and Granny behind, not when he’s risking his life to get Al’s body back, not while he’s a dog of the Military. Their goal is still too far to think about home too often, and that very much includes the people in it. He gets irritated about it more on principle than on anything else (at least, he thinks so). 

It starts to get to him though, that they all seem to understand these things that don’t make any sense to him. They talk about it more now, which might be part of the reason. They’d apparently been toning it down when he first started, because now Havoc goes into even more (incomprehensible) detail about his dates and his complaints over Mustang stealing them. He isn’t the only one who talks about it in the office though, he’s just the most vocal. Ed hears it in the Military halls, he hears it on missions, he hears it just walking through town. Today he hears it again, Havoc mooning over a woman and how she’s curvy and has gorgeous hair and Ed is lost on why any of it matters that much about five seconds in. Though he slams open Mustang’s office door the same as usual once Hawkeye gives him the go ahead, and gives his report the same way he always does, his mind lingers on what Havoc is saying, on the way people are reacting. What is he missing?

It’s the end of his report and he really should leave. Except… except it’s still bothering him, and while he normally wouldn’t ask Mustang for anything, he can’t help but think of the way Mustang had taken him aside early on and laid out all the warning signs for someone trying to take advantage of him, that Ed hadn’t known to look out for. Granny had been the one to sit Ed and Al down insisting they couldn’t go to the Military not knowing about the workings of sexual intercourse. Granny had been thorough on mechanics but it was the Colonel who had given him an in depth explanation on dangers Ed, with his small town background, hadn’t even known were possibilities. He’d also given Ed an open invitation to ask him about any conduct that made him confused or uncomfortable. 

The way everyone reacts when Havoc talks about how ‘hot’ a woman is, or the way they talk about the Colonel’s dates, _do_ confuse him. It _does_ make him uncomfortable to feel like he’s the only one who doesn’t get something that everyone else seems to understand without question. So after he’s finished giving his report, he just sort of looks at the Colonel.

“Was there something else, Fullmetal?” the Colonel asks. He raises an eyebrow at Ed, chin in hand, teasing smirk in place. 

Ed has never been one to let his fears control him, but this throws him so out of his comfort zone for a moment he finds himself ducking his head. He’s no coward but it’s hard to look Mustang in the eye when he doesn’t know how he’ll take his question. Ugh, he already hates this. “I have a question…” he says. But before Mustang can add some sort of snarky remark, his head is snapping back up, and he points roughly at the Colonel, “but you aren’t allowed to laugh! Or tease me!” he adds hastily. The Colonel’s expression turns serious, and he drops his hand to the desk and straightens his posture.

“Then I won’t,” he says, and he looks Ed right in the eye. “Whatever you have to say now stays in my office, I will treat it seriously, and I won’t bring it up again unless it genuinely needs to be discussed. Will that do?” he asks. Ed holds eye contact for a moment, but he believes the Colonel, so he just ends up looking away again and nodding. After a moment, he forces himself to speak. 

“Why do people have sex when they don’t want children?” Ed asks. He’s thought about wording it a hundred different ways, but he thinks this gets to the root of his confusion. Mustang doesn’t look surprised by Ed’s question, when Ed lifts his head to see his face. Mustang is studying him, no doubt reading something into Ed’s question that even Ed doesn’t understand.

“A lot of people find sex to be enjoyable, outside of its evolutionary purpose. Arguably, the fact that it is enjoyable is part of its evolution,” Mustang says. He speaks carefully, as though weighing the words. “The more often two fertile partners with the right sexual organs have sex, the more likely they are to have kids,” he adds, probably because of Ed’s confused expression. 

“But why- when- ugh,” Ed scowls and takes a moment to regroup mentally, “...how do people know they… _want_ to have sex with someone, I guess?” he finally asks.

“For a lot of people, it has to do with sexual attraction. When you hear someone talk about how ‘hot’ someone is, that’s usually what they mean,” Mustang says. He’s relaxed his posture some but his hands are folded on his desk as he watches Ed work through the new information.

“Sexual attraction?” Ed asks, because he’s honestly never heard the words put together like that before. 

“Yes. If you feel sexually attracted to someone, then you will want to touch them sexually. That’s probably the best way to explain it,” Mustang says. Ed must look as horrified as he feels, because Mustang keeps talking. “I take it that isn’t something you’ve experienced. Well, there are people who don’t experience sexual attraction. There are people who do but don’t actually like sex. There are people who don’t experience sexual attraction who actually really like sex. Humans are complex like that.”

“Does that mean there’s something wrong with me? That if I don’t feel sexual attraction I can’t fall in love?” Ed asks, suddenly worried, because everyone always talks about sex in conjunction with romantic relationships. As though they always end in sex. Ed had always thought that meant trying to start a family, even if that hadn’t completely made sense when applied to every conversation.

“That is not what it means,” Mustang replies firmly. “I know a lot of people talk about sex and romance like they’re the same thing, but they’re not. You can experience either sexual or romantic attraction, both, or neither. A lot of people don’t have to think about it too hard, or they simply keep quiet because it’s what society expects, but there are more people than you know who feel differently about sex and romance. Some want one or the other, some want neither. Some experience one or both only rarely. Some don’t experience either attraction but they still enjoy romance, sex, or both, and they are still capable of love. Regardless of what you do or don’t feel, there’s nothing wrong with you, Edward.” 

Ed digests all of that in silence, and Mustang looks at his pocket watch. He sighs after a moment, lifting one of his hands for the first time to rub his chin. 

“As much as I’d like to keep answering your questions, I unfortunately do have a meeting soon that I need to prepare for. I’m sure you have a lot you want to think about, too. If you have more questions, I can make time to see you outside of the office, or you can ask me if it’s something you think will be quick, or that I’ll have time for,” he pauses, “and I don’t think Hawkeye would be opposed to answering some questions for you either.”

“I’ll think about it,” Ed says with a shrug, trying to shake the vague, uncomfortably embarrassed feeling this entire talk has plagued him with.

“I wish there was something I could give you to read, but most of this stuff is passed on by word of mouth. I’ll look into it though. I know a few people who might have an idea.” Mustang says, and Ed perks up at the thought. A book would make this so much easier. Mustang’s lips just barely quirk at the edges for a moment, so fast Ed almost misses it, and he scowls at him when he catches it. Mustang just gives him a smirk, and he can feel them edge back into normal territory when Mustang says, “Now if there are no more little things-”

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PINT-SIZED PIPSQUEAK?” Ed shouts with what is arguably more enthusiasm than he normally uses. Mustang’s smirk just gets bigger.

“I didn’t say that, did I Fullmetal? Now get out of here,” Mustang shoos him away and Ed feels relieved. Relieved to have some answers, even if they bring in more questions. Relieved there isn’t something wrong with him. 

Mostly, though, right now he’s relieved that he can leave and pretend this conversation with Mustang never happened.


End file.
